Kusser: Adonis

Although the Greek gods were mightier than the vermin that they had build their temples, they were not immune to human impulses. Jealousy in particular often confused them - as Johann Sigismund Kusser showed the Stuttgart court around 1700, when he sent the "divine" opera heroes into a commotion. Cupid shoots wildly in every direction, causing Apollo to be after Daphne and Venus burns for Adonis, who in turn is only interested in a lively hunt - until finally an arrow hardened by Vulcan penetrates and he succumbs to the goddess of love. She weakens his aim and so a wild boar takes him by the tusks. It was long thought that this exquisite, effervescent opera was lost. However, it was tracked down and rediscovered by an Australian scholar in the Wurttemberg State Library in 2005, enabling Halubeck and il Gusto Barocco to record it and add another gem to the catalogue of baroque opera.